The Death of Superman story line was a direct response to slumping comic book sales in the early ’90s. The maxiseries, which spanned several DC titles, was a huge success and a media event.
It began in “Superman: The Man of Steel #18″ in 1992, with Doomsday busting through a metal wall. The huge creature in a green suit soon begins to cut a path of destruction across the country, and takes out the Justice League of America in no time. Superman joins the battle and what follows is a 100-page fight between the goliath and the Man of Steel. It all ends in Metropolis, where Superman finally stops Doomsday but at the cost of his own life.
But that’s not all, folks.
Part 2 of the storyline, “Funeral for a Friend” (“World Without a Superman,” in graphic novel form), details the aftermath of Superman’s death. Superman is laid to rest in a mausoleum in Metropolis, but the body is soon stolen, supposedly to be cloned. Meanwhile, Superman’s friends and family grieve.
In Part 3, “Reign of the Supermen” (“The Return of Superman,” in graphic novel form), four heroes emerge and claim to be Superman — The Man of Steel (an iron worker and weapons designer who wears metal armor and fights with a giant hammer); Superboy (a cocky teenage clone of Superman); a Cyborg superman; and the visored Last Son of Krypton. At the end of the story, Coast City is destroyed and several of the fake Supermen and the old, resurrected Superman, now dressed in black and weakened by his recent death, try to stop Metropolis from being blow up.
